Last night, the closing night party sponsored by A&E Indie Films was very fancy and held at the Nasher Museum of Art center for contemporary and post modern artists from around the world. There were shuttle buses provided that took us out there and it's a really great new space. There was an exhibition called Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool — and it is. Here's the description from the website:

"The first career retrospective of the renowned American artist Barkley L. Hendricks. Born in 1945 in Philadelphia, Hendricks's unique work resides at the nexus of American realism and post-modernism, a space somewhere between portraitists Chuck Close and Alex Katz and pioneering black conceptualists David Hammons and Adrian Piper. He is best known for his stunning, life-sized portraits of people of color from the urban northeast.

"Cool, empowering and sometimes confrontational, Hendricks's artistic privileging of a culturally complex black body has paved the way for today's younger generation of artists. This unprecedented exhibition of Hendricks's paintings will include work from 1964 to the present."

The party ended early. I heard there was going to be an early after party at the Hilton Hotel where the filmmakers were staying but alas I was pooped after my panel and a day of screening – I was heading back to the Marriott Hotel for as much beauty sleep as I could get. I was joined on the way back by Tom Quinn, Magnolia Pictures and the 'host with the most' Molly Thompson, A&E Indie Films (see pic).

Aah the last day of Full Frame, and the jurors would have been deliberating into the wee hours — maybe not, but you never know! The winners are announced at the famous BBQ and Trouble the Water is the top winner followed by Man on Wire (a Magnolia Pictures release). Check out the winners below — there are a total of 12 awards.

Anne Dellinger Grand Jury Award — Trouble the Water

Special Jury Award — Man on Wire

Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short — City of Cranes

Full Frame Audience Award — Man on Wire

Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award — Lioness

The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award — In A Dream

Full Frame Inspiration Award — At the Death House Door

Full Frame President's Award — Summerchild

Full Frame Spectrum Award — The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Full Frame Women In Leadership Award — Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Full Frame/Working Films Award — Please Vote for Me and Trouble the Water

The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights — Trouble the Water

I am back in chilly New York, thankfully it's not raining and Full Frame will be re-screening the 'best of the fest.' For me, Full Frame didn't have the same community spirit as last year and I am sure that was due to the dreadful weather but overall I had a productive and fun time.

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Will it every stop raining?

What a night? Torrential rain, thunder with forked lightening. Many filmmakers didn't make it into town but I did run into a weary Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths) at a restaurant last night who had just arrived after spending 6 hours in La Guardia airport on her way down to Durham – ugh.

I was up bright and early and went to the YMCA across the street to work-out, I can't believe I did that, then at 1:00 p.m. I went over to the venue at the Durham Arts Council for the panel. Unfortunately, David Laud from THINKFilm was stuck in Florida and couldn't make it due to the weather but there were so many people on the panel anyway it was fine and we didn't have enough time – the venue was sold-out. I put a positive spin on the kick off questions and had people talking about success, how audience's are looking at films, alternative distribution models and is the STATE OF THE DOC really all gloom or doom or is it just people have unrealistic expectations. I believe it's the latter.

At the end we were swarmed by enthusiastic filmmakers and then I wandered back to the hotel where I bumped into AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain About a Son) and Gary Hustwit (Helvetica) eating a very large yet tasty oatmeal cookie (see pic). Now I'm heading to a screening of Boogie Man about Lee Atwater. I hear most of the politicians who are in the film will be in attendance so I can't wait for the Q&A. I hope it will be a heated one.

Following that I will head over to the Nasher Museum of Art to the A&E Indie Films Saturday night party.

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Last night was great. The opening night party was in an amazing old tobacco warehouse that had been renovated and they were turning people away. I ran into Michael Tucker (Gunner Palace, Bulletproof Salesman) and the father of cinema verité Albert Maysles (see pic). Albert is still making films and he was leaving for another festival that morning and then some more – incredible. What an exhausting and fun day – I had to meet with Jon Reiss (Bomb It) really early this morning to go over some work related stuff and we found a spot at Registration with a nice sofa and chairs and before we knew it we were joined by the majority of jury members including Gary Hustwit who had his film about the font Helvetica at the fest last year, R.J. Cutler (The War Room) and Mary Kerr, Executive Director, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar.

I ended up wandering over to the screening of Bomb It at a new venue and it was packed and the audience loved it. From the opening quote they were laughing and clapping throughout – I forgot what a great soundtrack the film has and the volume was cranked up which was great. On the shuttle bus back to the Marriott I listened to a conversation by a bunch of kids who just came form the screening and they were psyched. Hope they weren't on their way to buy spray paint. Back at the Marriott, I meet Tom Zandra from Red Envelope Entertainment at the restaurant. Unbeknown to us, Working Films were about to have a reception and before we knew it we were joined by Robert West and Judith Helfand and about 50 other people. I saw Annie Sundberg (The Devil Came on Horseback) come in and rush off to her jury dinner – there are loads of juries at this fest I am really curious to find out who wins the audience award.

After dinner, I plan to see Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss' new film Full Battle Rattle. It's screening after At the Death Door House by Steve James and Peter Gilbert (Hoop Dreams) I saw the film at SXSW and it's an unflinchingly original film about the death penalty and really powerful. The Full Frame audience will be in for a treat.

I hear there are two BBQ places close by called Mama Dips and Allan & Sons. I think I may hit the streets of Durham and maybe Chapel Hill see if I can find them — so much for the diet!

The weather is a little better but it's been raining – I hope it's nice tomorrow... Oh maybe not — I need people to come to the panel!

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So much for checking the weather and they totally got it wrong — it's not sunny or hot in Durham, it's cold and raining! Anyway the flight down was pain free and I was on one of these tiny puddle jumpers at the back of the plane bext to the lav – great but it was fine. I saw Yance Ford, Series producer, POV, Tom Quinn, Senior Vice President Magnolia Pictures and Head of Acquisitions (who is on my panel) and filmmaker Mary Harron (The Notorious Bettie Page, American Psycho) who is on the Full Frame Inspiration Award Jury. We all met at the hospitality table in the airport and were driven to our hotels. Yance and I were joined by David Shipley, Deputy Editorial Page Editor, The New York Times who is on a panel entitled "Video Op-Ed A Brainstorming Session" – I think my panel will be much more lively! Our driver, Elaine was hilarious she used to run a catering company in California and was telling us these wild stories about catering Frank Sinatra's birthday parties back in the day – what a fun ride to the hotel.

Why? oh why? At every festival there is always a problem at registration I was sent to one place and then another and they couldn't find me – fortunately along the way I bumped into loads of friendly faces in particular (see photo left to right) Karen Cirillo, who now works at the UNICEF but once many years ago used to be the programmer at Full Frame, Jesse Epstein who has a short film entitled 34x25x36 screening, and producer Sarie Horowitz.

The opening night film is Trumbo directed by Peter Askin, I saw it at Toronto International Film festival but I will see it again. I hear Joan Allen is in town – she's one of the narrators. Well it's champagne time I am heading to a reception at the Durham Arts Council before the screening.

It's still raining I better grab an umbrella from the concierge.

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After a freezing morning commute to the New Video office in New York, I just checked the weather in Durham, because I always forget it's warm in North Carolina in fact often hot and I never pack accordingly. Last year, I walked from venue to venue looking like Nanook of the North wrapped in winter woolies and feeling as if I had arrived from Scotland (my homeland) but THIS year I have planned ahead and with a comfortable 74 F I will dig out my sling-backs and summer togs for the weekend ahead.

I am actually just off the phone with a very enthusiastic Greg Kendall, Vice President, Balcony Releasing, who is driving to Durham from New York from Amherst because he is one of the many participants on a panel I am moderating on Saturday called STATE OF THE DOC. He gave me some really great ideas and I have a feeling we are in for a lively discussion. Early this evening I am calling David Laub from THINKFilm who is currently on the jury at the Florida Film Festival who is also on the panel so I plan to pick his brains too.

I have to say, I do enjoy Full Frame. It's laid out very well with a courtyard in the center of all the screening rooms beside the main hotel where a local bistro sets up shop offering a selection of yummo salads and sandwiches – very convenient to stop off between screenings (without the gloves and wellies). There, I plan to catch up with filmmakers and festival programmers and hopefully make new friends.

In particular, I am looking forward to seeing a few films I missed at other film festivals — and although I have seen the film I will attend Jon Reiss' screening of Bomb It (we are releasing this on DVD on May 27th). There is nothing better than seeing a doc in a packed venue with a appreciative audience — and I am interested to hear the Q&A. Also. My old friend Stefan Forbes has his new film Boogie Man screening and I am keen to see that too.

Better dash. I have back-to-back meetings at New Video before I head home to pack.

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